Washington Desk Supervising Senior Editor Beth Donovan and Deputy Washington Editor Shirley Henry announced several staffing updates today. Read the full note below.
All – As we head into election season, we have good news and some new faces at the Washington Desk.
The focus on voting systems has Brett Neely shifting gears to lead the NPR Politics station collaboration initiative. Building on the work he did in 2016 and on the National Desk in 2017, Brett will work with closely with stations on their coverage of the midterm elections and of voting, including election cybersecurity and voting rights. He will help stations find commonalities across the states and elevate that coverage for national air and NPR.org.
We are also delighted to announce that Deirdre Walsh will be joining NPR and the Washington Desk as our new Congress Editor. Deirdre began her career as a researcher on the CNN program Inside Politics and rose through the ranks to become a Senior Congressional Reporter and Producer, helping to coordinate CNN's Hill team, writing for the web, and contributing to coverage across their many programs. With experience covering breaking news and helping break news for broadcast and the web, Deirdre brings the skills and wisdom to lead our all-star Congress team of Sue Davis, Scott Detrow and Kelsey Snell.
Deirdre is a graduate of Boston College, an Army brat who grew up all over the country, and enjoys family vacations at the beach. She'll join us on May 14. Please come by and say hello.
With thanks to the National Desk, Sarah McCammon will temporarily join the White House team, while Tamara Keith is out on maternity leave. She debuted in the role over the weekend when she traveled with the President to Washington, MI.
Finally, today is Barton Girdwood's first day with the desk as our podcast producer, and Meghan Sullivan will join us in person, back filling for the first half of Dana Farrington's leave.
Congratulations and welcome to all!
Beth and Shirley
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